Deflagrating metallic cutting torch



July 12, 1966 w. HUMBERG 3,260,076

DEFLAGRATING METALLIC CUTTING TORCH Filed Feb. 20, 1964 INVENTOP United States Patent 6 Claims. 3:1. 67-34) This invention relates to a burner of the type including a burner pipe made of steel which will gradually burn off with a flame when oxygen is supplied.

It is the object of the present invention to devise such a burner so that it can be used for cutting natural rock, synthetic stone, cast iron and other materials having a hard structure.

This object is attained according to the present invention by the provision of a burner of the initially specified type which comprises a burner pipe of steel adapted to gradually burn off with a flame after having been ignited at its free end and an insert of fusible material accommodated with lateral clearance within said burning pipe.

Conveniently, the insert may consist of a plurality of burnable steel or other metal wires or the like, which for the sake of convenience will hereafter be referred to as steel wires, and of a magnesium alloy core which again may be constituted by a plurality of Elektron wires i.e. wires made from a magnesium base alloy, the number of such wires to be less than the number of the fusible steel wires. Advantageously, the magnesium alloy core with in the burner pipe may be concentrically surrounded by the fusible steel wires in such a manner as to ensure free flow of oxygen through the burner pipe.

The flame produced by the burning steel and magnesium alloy at the free end of the burner pipe will be locally limited and of such a temperature that hard materials such as basalt, marble, ore and fire-clay slags as well as cast iron and concrete bodies can be cut or severed within a relatively short period of time.

The considerable working depth and the relatively narrow cutting width ensure rapid and economical operation of the burner, the latter feature being particularly apt to reduce costly losses When cutting expensive materials.

The proposed burner may also conveniently be used for producing boreholes in heavy rock as well as for burning or vaporizing, respectively, oily liquids that are floating on a water surface or have seeped into the ground, in which cases a burner pipe of special length may be used, if required.

The burner is easy to manipulate and has the additional advantage that the cutting operation itself is free from vibrations and produces only insignificant noise.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a burner according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section, on a larger scale, through the burner head, and

FIG. 3 is a cross section taken on the line IIIIII of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 shows a burner which comprises a burner pipe 1 of any desired length replaceably fitted in a cylindrical burner head 2 serving as a handle and provided on its outer cylindrical surface with a plurality of grooves 3 intended to facilitate its being gripped by a users hand. The burner head 2 has a tapering end portion 4 connected to an oxygen supply pipe 6 through the intermediary of a valve 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a clamping member 8 of elastically deformable material, such as hard rubber, is inserted in the hollow burner head and provided with a longitudinal central bore 11 receiving one end Patented July 12, 1966 portion of the burner pipe 1. At either end face of the clamping member 8 there is disposed a washer 9 or 10, respectively. The assembly is secured by means of a clamping nut 7 screwed on to the front end portion of the burner head 2. When the clamping nut is screwed on the burner head, the clamping member 8 is axially compressed by the clamping nut 7 and acts on the interpositioned washer 10 and thus tightly clamps the end portion of the burner pipe 1 by the simultaneous radial deformation of the elastically deformable material of the clamping member 8. Due to this deformation, the cylindrical outer surface of the clamping member 8 is pressed against the internal wall of the hollow burner head 2 while the wall of the longitudinal central bore 11 is pressed around the the one end portion of the burner pipe 1 so that this is reliably secured .and sealed in the shortest time possible.

The burner pipe 1 consists of steel and includes an insert consisting of a fusible wire-like core 13 of a magnesium alloy, such as Elektron. The core 13 of the Elektron is concentrically surrounded by a plurality of fusible steel wires 14 each having a cross-sectional area smaller than that of the core 13, as can be seen from FIG. 3. The magnesium alloy core 13 may for example consist of a plurality of individual Elektron wires which, however, in any case must be less in number than the surrounding steel wires 14.

In operation, oxygen is fed under pressure through the burner head into the attached end portion of the burner pipe and through the pipe to the free end of the same and when the free end is ignited a flame will result, the intensity of which is adaptable to actual requirements by varying the size of the burner pipe, the alloy core 13 and the steel wires 14.

It will be appreciated that the design of the magnesium alloy core 13 and of the steel wires 14 as well as their arrangement within the burner pipe 1 may be realized in any other convenient manner without departing from the invention.

I claim:

1. An open flame torch comprising, in combination, an elongated burner pipe having an inner surface, an outer surface and an axis, said pipe being made from a metallic material, which gradually burns-off when ignited under supply of oxygen; a plurality of elongated burnable metal Wires; at least one elongated magnesium alloy rod, said burnable metal wires and said magnesium alloy rod having substantially the same length as said pipe and being arranged inside of said pipe substantially parallel to said axis .and with their surfaces at least in part spaced from said inner surface, and from each other, so as to define passage means for the flow of gas through said torch which is bounded by portions of the inner surface of said pipe and of the surfaces of said wires and said magnesium alloy rod, such surface portions together having an area substantially greater than the area of said inner surface of said pipe; oxygen supply means; and connecting means interposed between one end of said pipe and said oxygen supply means for connecting said one end of said pipe to said oxygen supply means, so that oxygen may flow through said passage means along and in contact with all of said portions of said inner surface of said pipe and said surfaces of said wires and said rod so as to have an area of contact with said surface portions which exceeds the area of said inner surface of said pipe, whereby burning of said torch is enhanced.

2. An open flame torch as set forth in claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprise valve means for controlling the flow of oxygen into said one end of said pipe.

3. An open flame torch as set forth in claim 1 and including holding means for holding said pipe at one end thereof, said holding means comprising an elongated shell open at both ends and communicating through one of .said open ends with the oxygen supply means; an annular member of elastically deformable material located in said shell with the outer peripheral surface thereof engaging the inner surface of said shell and with the outer surface of said one end of said pipe engaging the inner peripheral surface of said annular member; and means operatively connected to one end of said shell and engaging an end face of said annular member adjacent thereto for axially compressing and thereby radially expanding said annular member to thereby clamp said one end of said pipefin said holding means.

4. An open flame torch as set forth in claim 3 wherein said means engaging an end face of said annular member are threadably connected to said one end of said shell.

5. An open flame torch as set forth in claim 1 wherein the total cross sectional area of all burnable metal wires is substantially equal to the cross sectional area of all magnesium alloy rods and wherein the number of burnable metal wires in said pipe is greater than the number of magnesium alloy rods in said pipe.

6. An open flame torch as set forth in claim 1 wherein one magnesium alloy rod is located inside of said pipe substantially coaXially therewith and a plurality of burnable metal wires are located inside of said pipe about said magnesium alloy rod.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,494,003 5/ 1924 Malcher. 1,631,290 6/1927 Sheedy et a1. 29914 2,454,733 11/ 1948 Dahl. 3,168,090 2/1965 Billhardt 1101 X FREDERICK KETTERER, Primary Examiner- 

1. AN OPEN FLAME TORCH COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED BURNER PIPE HAVING AN INNER SURFACE, AN OUTER SURFACE AND AN AXIS, SAID PIPE BEING MADE FROM A METALLIC MATERIAL, WHICH GRADUALLY BURNS-OFF WHEN IGNITED UNDER SUPPLY OF OXYGEN; A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED BURNABLE METAL WIRES; AT LEAST ONE ELONGATED MAGNESIUM ALLOY ROD, SAID BURNABLE METAL WIRES AND SAID MAGNESIUM ALLOY ROD HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME LENGTH AS SAID PIPE AND BEING ARRANGED INSIDE OF SAID PIPE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID AXIS AND WITH THEIR SURFACES AT LEAST IN PART SPACED FROM SAID INNER SURFACE, AND FROM EACH OTHER, SO AS TO DEFINE PASSAGE MEANS FOR THE FLOW OF GAS THROUGH SAID TORCH WHICH IS BOUNDED BY PORTIONS OF THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID PIPE AND OF THE SURFACES OF SAID WIRES AND SAID MAGNESIUM ALLOY ROD, SUCH SURFACE PORTIONS TOGETHER HAVING AN AREA SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE AREA OF SAID INNER SURFACE OF SAID PIPE; OXYGEN SUPPLY MEANS; AND CONNECTING MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN ONE END OF SAID PIPE AND SAID OXYGEN SUPPLY MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID ONE END OF SAID PIPE TO SAID OXYGEN SUPPLY MEANS, SO THAT OXYGEN MAY FLOW THROUGH SAID PASSAGE MEANS ALONG AND IN CONTACT WITH ALL OF SAID PORTIONS OF SAID INNER SURFACE OF SAID PIPE AND SAID SURFACES OF SAID WIRES AND SAID ROD SO AS TO HAVE AN AREA OF CONTACT WITH SAID SURFACE PORTIONS WHICH EXCEEDS THE AREA OF SAID INNER SURFACE OF SAID PIPE, WHEREBY BURNING OF SAID TORCH IS ENHANCED. 